"I still have hope for the TPP. I hope US President-elect Donald Trump will have a clearer view of the importance of the agreement and reconsider his decision when he assumes office. In the meantime, we will carry on with the domestic ratification process, with 26 amendments to 17 laws to be tabled in Parliament," Ong was quoted as saying by The Star newspaper.
On Monday, Trump said in a video on YouTube that he would withdraw the United States from the TPP and focus on negotiating "fair" bilateral trade deals that will bring jobs back to the country.
The future of the TPP was put into question, after the victory of Trump in the US presidential election on November 8. During his presidential campaign, the US president-elect has repeatedly criticized the deal and expressed the desire to shift the focus from the global trade to national economic development in order to support the US economy.
